22/06/2025
19 June 1829 the Metropolitan Police Act receives royal assent thus marking the birth of modern policing, and of the Metropolitan Police.
An Act for improving the Police in and near the Metropolis (19 June 1829)
Whereas Offences against Property have of late increased in and near the Metropolis; and the local Establishments of Nightly Watch and Nightly Police have been found inadequate to the Prevention and Detection of Crime, by reason of the frequent Unfitness of the individuals employed, the Insufficiency of their Number, the limited Sphere of their Authority, and their Want of Connection and Cooperation with each other
And whereas it is expedient to substitute a new and more efficient System of Police in lieu of such Establishments of Nightly Watch and Nightly Police, within the Limits herein-after mentioned, and to constitute an Office of Police, which, acting under the immediate Authority of One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, shall direct and control the whole of such new System of Police within those Limits: Be it therefore enacted.…
That it shall be lawful for His Majesty to cause a new Police Office to be established in the City of Westminster, and by Warrant under His Sign Manual to appoint Two fit Persons as justices of the Peace of the Counties of Middlesex, Surrey, Hertford, Essex, and Kent, and of all Liberties therein, to execute the Duties of a justice of the Peace at the said Office, and in all Parts of those several Counties, and the Liberties therein, together with such other Duties as shall be herein-after specified, or as shall be from Time to Time directed by One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, for the more efficient Administration of the Police within the Limits herein-after mentioned.…
The initial force consisted of two Commissioners, eight Superintendents, 20 Inspectors, 88 Sergeants and 895 Constables.
Patrolling the streets within a seven-mile radius of Charing Cross, in order to prevent crime and pursue offenders
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Rowan, and a young barrister, Richard Mayne, became the first Commissioners.
There have been 30 Commissioners 2 of which have filled the role temporarily as Acting Commissioner
The 19th Commissioner Sir Robert Mark in 1972 was the first to have risen from Constable to the top job as all commissioners have done since, before that several had been senior military officers including the 13th Commissioner Sir Hugh Trenchard who had previously been the Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Dame Cressida Dick the 28th Commissioner was the first woman to hold the office
The Metropolitan police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place had a back-entry in Scotland Yard generally used by the police which soon gave the popular name to the whole building. By 1887, the Metropolitan Police headquarters had expanded from 4 Whitehall Place into several neighbouring addresses, including 3, 5, 21 and 22 Whitehall Place, 8 and 9 Great Scotland Yard, and several stables
Having outgrown its HQ a new building was designed and built on the Victoria Embankment, overlooking the River Thames, south of what is now the Ministry of Defence's headquarters.
In 1888, during the construction of the new building, workers discovered the dismembered torso of a female; the case, known as the 'Whitehall Mystery', was never solved.
In 1890, police headquarters moved to the new location, which was named New Scotland Yard. By now the force numbered 13,000
The HQ moved in 1967 to 8-10 the Broadway, but was still known as New Scotland Yard
23 March 2017 the Force HQ moved back to Victoria Embankment and is adjacent to the original New Scotland Yard
Amazingly as now the new Police force was not popular with the Mob, indications of the their unpopularity of the time, were such nicknames as 'Raw Lobsters', 'Blue Devils' and 'Peel's Bloody Gang'.
Officers were physically assaulted, others impaled, blinded, and on one occasion held down while a vehicle was driven over them.
On 28 June 1830, Constable Joseph Grantham became the first member of the force to be killed in the line of duty, an incident described by the Coroner's Inquest as "justifiable homicide", again indicating the unpopularity of the force. He had intervened in a fight between two drunks in Somers Town, London, during the altercation Grantham was beaten to death. At his inquest, the jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide", Grantham being held to have contributed to his own death by "over-exertion in the discharge of his duty"
Pc Grantham was the first of 650 Met Police Officers and Staff who have lost their lives in the line of duty the most recent being Sgt Matt Ratana who was shot and killed on 25 Sept 2020
Met officers did not start Patrolling the streets of London until 29 Sept 1829
Between 1829 and 1830, 17 local divisions each with its own police station were established, each lettered A to V, allocating each London borough with a designated letter. These divisions were: A (Westminster); B (Chelsea); C (Mayfair and Soho); D (Marylebone); E (Holborn); F (Kensington); G (Kings Cross); H (Stepney); K (West Ham); L (Lambeth); M (Southwark); N (Islington); P (Peckham); R (Greenwich); S (Hampstead); T (Hammersmith) and V (Wandsworth). In 1865 three more divisions were created, W (Clapham); X (Willesden) and Y (Tottenham); J Division (Bethnal Green) was added in 1886.
Since a reorganisation in 2017 the Met is now divided into 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs) made up of two, three or four boroughs.
The Met now numbers over 46,000 made up of 33,201 (down 600 on last year) police officers, 11,319 police staff, 1,460 PCSOs and Designated Detention Officers
In support if these are 1,127 (Down 700 on last year) special constables, 1,500 police support volunteers, 3,658 volunteer police cadets, 250 land sharks (Police Dogs), 120 Horses
The Met operates over 5,000 vehicles and in 2016 these covered over 46,777,720 miles
The Met Police marine Unit patrols 47 miles of the River Thames in London between Dartford and Hampton Court. It also provides a response to over 250 miles of waterways and other bodies of water across the rest of London, such as lakes, reservoirs and canals. The Marine unit is based at Wapping where a Thames River Police has existed since 1798, merging with the Met in 1839. It has 22 operational vessels
The Met receive across a year an average of 13,000 emergency and non-emergency phone calls and 12,000 digital interactions every day.
Over the last several years the Met has closed nearly 50% of its Police Stations leaving around 40 still operational
The Met Budget for this year is £4.9 Billion, policing the 3rd largest city in Europe, with 9 million inhabitants, that receives 30 million visitors a year as well
So Happy 196th Birthday to the Metropolitan Police, you never know someone might notice
